In a significant breakthrough, Salim Dola, a close aide of Dawood Ibrahim, has been brought to India. He was deported to India and landed at a technical
airport in Delhi earlier Tuesday. Soon after landing in the national capital, Dola was taken into custody by intelligence agencies and is currently being questioned at a secure, undisclosed location. He is likely to be handed over to the Mumbai Police or the NCB in the coming days in connection with multiple cases related to drug trafficking and money laundering. An ANI tweet citing intelligence agencies said: "The deportation was carried out after a coordinated operation by intelligence agencies in collaboration with international agencies. He was flown in on a special aircraft this morning and is currently being questioned by intelligence officials. He is expected to be handed over to Mumbai Police for further investigation. He was recently apprehended in Istanbul and has now been deported to India."
Who Is Salim Dola?
Officials say that Dola played a key role in running a transnational synthetic drug racket estimated to be worth over Rs 5,000 crore. His return is being seen as a major step in targeting the global operations of the D-Company network, which has long been under scrutiny by the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Mumbai Police.
The deportation comes close on the heels of action against several of his associates and is being viewed as a major blow to organised drug syndicates with links across borders.
(With inputs from ANI)
